Author's note: The reason this story doesn't have more reviews/likes, to those who asked, is because I have an absolutely terrible update schedule. :P
Strength of the Sheikah
Chapter 11
The Recovering
Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye as Clementa trained in the depths of the earth. In the early morning, she would rise and hunt in the mists of dawn for her meal, stalking deer and boar in the forests still cloaked in shadow. Then she would descend with her prey back into the Hall of Masters, awake and ready to begin the day's training. She felt alive, more alive than she had on Zirco mesa when she had discarded the Yiga mask and embraced her own freedom. Every muscle became more toned, more defined as the days passed and her skill surpassed its limits.
She looked over the cliff one morning as she climbed back up the hill with her morning's hunt slung over her shoulder. Dawn had broken, but mist still clung to the ever-autumn forest of the Akkala region. Her breath hung in the air, chilled and misty in the early morning light. It's so peaceful. She thought. It's hard to believe that Hyrule was ever at war.
A glint of light caught her eye. She looked to the distance to see the Akkala ancient tech lab, the sun sparkling off the telescope perched precariously on top. He was right on top of it. All these year and we never knew the treasure that slept beneath the mountain. Aunt Purah will certainly get a laugh out of it.
How much has faded from our history? She wondered. W-they barely knew how to control the guardians when they were unburied, even before Ganon returned. The Towers are a mystery to us. It's almost as if the Sheikah themselves have disappeared from Hyrule. And w-they still might, if the Yiga have their way.
She couldn't think of herself as Sheikah. Not yet. Maybe not at all if she couldn't find the secret to the Sheikah's once immense power. She felt like she was going in circles. She hefted the deer over her shoulder a bit more. There was still a long day ahead of her. One step at a time.
She had almost perfected making Shadow copies. While she couldn't swarm her robotic opponents with sheer numbers, the two echoes of herself were more than capable of dealing damage even as she darted around the arena. She watched her latest trial, two matching guardian scouts, as they spun and fired lasers in an attempt to keep up with the Sheikah in training. But she was faster, Leaping over their heads and striking before darting away, barely allowing her copies to land identical hits before darting along the side and slashing their arms as they focused on the foes overhead. She was fast, efficient, almost brutal in her fighting. Then she watched as a scout finally caught on and spun to face her instead of the copy to its left.
She darted forward, the urge to be past it an instinct in her mind. Before she had realized what had happened she had shadow stepped past the guardian altogether, skidding to a halt and watching behind her. To her immense surprise, her copies did the same, vanishing from just in front of the Guardian before appearing just beside her as the guardian fired into thin air. She didn't waste the opportunity, slashing her weapon across the back of the guardian, inciting the familiar ding before the scout collapsed into a sparking heap. The second scout was close behind it, leaving two more broken piles of scrap in the blink of an eye.
"Well done." A voice said from thin air. Rav Sij's avatar shimmered into existence between the two broken guardians. "You have mastered the ability to make copies of yourself."
Clementa smiled, exhausted as the copies vanished into nothing. The Ancient spear she carried was light in her grip, its tip sparkling in the light of the arena. She had found it while exploring the storerooms and armories after her Gerudo spear had broken. It was so light that at first she had doubted its ability to do damage, but her worries were assuaged when it proved to be deadly in combat when the Poe had snuck up on her while hunting.
"Unfortunately, this all that I can teach you at this time."
Her smile began to fade. "Do not be alarmed; there is still much more for you to learn. But you must prove that you are ready before I can teach. And first you must truly master what you have learned against opponents that will react differently than my scouts will." The image turned and gestured to the lift at the far end of the room. "Go. Return to the surface and spend time among your own people. I shall be waiting here whenever you are ready to continue our training. Feel free to wander the storerooms before you go; there may be something of use there for the journey ahead of you."
Clementa nodded. She bowed deeply to the image of the ancient Sheikah warrior. "Thank you Rav Sij. It has been an honor to learn from you."
"And it has been an honor to teach. You have done your ancestors proud." Rav Sij replied, nodding in return. "Farewell, Heir to the Sheikah. Best of luck on the Longest Road you walk." The image vanished into thin air, giving the impression that the young wanderer was alone in the arena. Clementa knew better. Rav Sij was a part of the Hall of Masters; he always seemed to be present. She turned and walked away from the scouts that still lay on the floor, smoking.
It didn't take her long to pack her bag. It was still light, the majority of her camping supplies with Amencer at the stable he had been left at. She donned her cloak and her hat, and set her new spear in the old, worn holder on her back before picking up her bag. She did wander through the ancient storerooms before she left and, while the functions of what she found were well beyond her, she did find a few small purses of rupees she gladly took. It was better than nothing.
It was mid-afternoon when she emerged from the tiny lift that led to the great treasure of the Sheikah. The sun was shining high overhead as she stepped out of the shadows of the cave. She looked across the landscape of the Akkala region with a single thought. What now?
I could go back to the castle. She thought. I'm sure there's more books I've yet to recover regarding our history. I want to learn more of this "twilit invasion" that was mentioned at the end of the last book. Or I could go talk to Aunt Purah again. I bet she would love to hear I found the Hall of Masters under Robbie's nose.
She looked at the horizon, then began the walk down the hill. Beedle will be disappointed. She thought idly. The Hall of Masters wasn't shaped like a beetle at all.
It was a long walk back to East Akkala Stable. She hadn't realized how far she had run when she had been pursuing her shadows two weeks before. Has it been that long? She thought. She felt bad for leaving Amencer in the stable so long. The stable hands must think I'm dead.
They didn't, but they certainly had been worried. "We were starting to wonder about you." The man at the desk said as a stable hand led Amencer out from behind the tent. "Lots of people that try to go up to the lab never come back."
"I was waylaid by an unexpected discovery." Clementa replied. "Quite frankly, I lost track of time."
"Two weeks is a lot of time to lose track of." The man commented. "But at least you're alive. It's more than many travelers can say these days."
Most travelers don't have ancient arrows. She thought as she rode away. Before she had gone to the stable she had returned to the tech lab to purchase some new arrowheads from Robbi. She could have picked up some in the storerooms, but well… She knew Robbi could use the money. And the company. Though he had given her quite the earful about running away and not coming back for two weeks. It took half an hour to calm him down after she had walked back through the door. His wife quietly ran the oven behind him to make the arrows while Robbi ranted at Clementa about punctuality. Well, it had started with punctuality. By the end of it he was expressing his opinion quite pointedly about the superiority of his craftsmanship to any other Sheikah Technology in Hyrule. She still wasn't sure how he'd made that leap in logic.
Still, she'd gotten the arrows she wanted. She waited until she was well south of the Ancient Tech lab before pulling them out and breaking the shafts off the arrowheads. Robbi probably would have had a fit. Then she rode on.
She spent a few days meandering south around the foothills of death mountain. While she didn't have any particular goal in mind she decided to raid Hyrule Castle again for more books before heading south to Hateno to check in on her Aunt. At least, that was the plan.
Those plans were thoroughly dashed when she arrived at Woodland Stable. It was early afternoon when she arrived, riding at a gentle walk to admire the lake as she passed. The sun was sparkling off the water as it slowly began its descent to the horizon. She looked ahead of her to see the stable hands in the yard. Strange. She thought. They seemed worried. She could see the furrows in their brows as they paced nervously, talking to each other. What's going on?
To her surprise, the worry turned to relief as she rode up. "Oh, thank goodness!" one said, running up to her with a worried look in her eyes. "I didn't know what we were going to do! We've never had a Sheikah in our stable before!"
Confusion, worry, and straight up panic flooded Clementa, though she did her best not to let it show outside a raised eyebrow. Who had come all the way here from Kakariko village, and what had they done to elicit such a panic in the stable hands?
Thankfully, the young lady noticed her confusion. "Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to unload on you like that." She said bashfully as Clementa slid out of the saddle. "I'm Breen, one of the stable hands. This young lady came to us a week ago and asked if she could stay a couple of days while she made some life choices. She was able to pay, and we're always happy to help so we said yes." She looked like she regretted it. "And then she got really sick. She's been sweaty and shaky and I don't think she can even hear us anymore."
"Show me." Clementa said, handing Amencer's reigns off to one of the other stable hands.
She followed Breen into the stable, aware of the watching eyes of every other employee as she passed, from the old man sitting at the table to the little girl sitting by a bed, carefully patting it's occupant's head with a damp cloth. She looked up as Clementa approached. "She won't wake up." She said sadly. "She just keeps moanin' and shakin."
Clementa looked at the girl in the bed. It had been years since she had last seen her face, but she still knew who it was; she had guessed before she had even passed the entrance. Srawi lay buried under blankets, white hair matted and soaked with sweat. Her face was twisted in pain, and a small moan escaped her lips even as Clementa sat down on the stool next to the little girl. She gently took the hand that lay on top of the blankets, feeling her pulse and the clamminess of her skin. Clementa sighed.
"What is it?" Breen asked.
Clementa looked at Srawi with sadness. "She is not sick." Clementa finally said. "Not like you or I would catch a cold. No, what afflicts Srawi is stronger, and worse because of how she has chosen to fight it."
"What do you mean?"
"She is fighting addiction." Clementa said. "Has she asked for bananas at all?"
Breen thought for a moment. "Now that you mention it…She did ask for them a few times before she got really sick. I thought she just liked them."
Clementa shook her head. "Even if you had any, they would not have sated her need. The bananas she is used to… They are of a strain not native to the Faron region, or Hyrule at all. Srawi… and I… ran away from home a long time ago and fell in with an unsavory crowd. The bananas they gave us were twisted by Ganon's malice, but addicting. I left when I realized just how wrong I had been to run away, and apparently Srawi has decided to as well. But the journey I made in months she is trying to make in days, and her body is rebelling against the choice."
Breen looked at her, eyes wide, then at the girl lying in the bed. "Is… is there anything we can do?" She asked slowly.
"Mighty Bananas would stem some of the desperate hunger she is feeling-the addiction isn't to the bananas themselves, but to the Malice within." Clementa explained. "Bananas from the Faron region would help her, but it is almost impossible to find them this far north. Without them… I don't think she'll die, but she will suffer for far longer until her body can learn to cope."
"We can't afford that!" The old man said from the table. "We're charitable folk, but even we have our limits!"
"Grandfather isn't wrong." Breen said sadly. "We do need the bed, and the moaning has been keeping us up at night."
Clementa reached into her bag and pulled out one of the small bags within. "This is for her stay up until now." She said, handing over the purse to Breen. "I'm sorry that she has been a burden on you. Had I been available, and known that she wanted to leave, I would have helped her sooner. Unfortunately, I do not have anywhere safe I can take her; I don't think she can be moved the way she is." She stood and looked down at Srawi, who had fallen asleep. "I will travel to Faron with all haste. I should be back in a few days with something that should stem her hunger."
"It won't be enough." The old man grumbled. "Even with the rupees. I know you mean well, but it's going to take more than that."
"Then what else can I do?" Clementa asked.
The old man leaned back in his chair. "Tell you what." He said. "There's legend of a plant, long ago, that could call a horse back to its rider, from anywhere, if used as a whistle. I've read about it all my life, but the only place it's been rumored to grow is Hyrule Ridge. Obviously I can't make the journey myself, what with my age and the monsters running amok, but a sprightly thing like you could…"
"Grandfather!" Breen chided. "Don't send her off on a wild goose chase! Especially if she's going all the way to Faron for these bananas!"
Clementa hesitated, the Ridge and the Faron region were on opposite sides of Hyrule; it could take up to two weeks, depending on the roads, to make the trip to both regions for their respective plants. And that's if the legendary whistle plant even exists. I can't let Srawi suffer that long. "I could-"
"Don't be ridiculous!" The old man continued, cutting Clementa off. "It's only two, three days ride at most to Hyrule Ridge! Shorter if she doesn't stop at night! She'd be back within a week!"
"Even if she could ride that fast, what about the monsters?" Breen shot back. "One attack, if she lives, would slow her down a lot!"
"Bah, just mix up a few potions with some rhino beetles or something!" The old man said with a wave of his hand. "She'd be fine!"
"Beetles…" Clementa mused. "That's it!" She dashed around the bed and outside the stable, looking around wildly. It took a moment, but then the familiar backpack with a beetle's horn wobbled into view around a tree. "Beedle!"
Beedle the merchant looked up from under his load as Clementa ran up to him. "Oh Hellooooo! Good to see you again!" Beedle said, pulling his little shelf from the sunshade of his backpack. "How have you been? I happen to have some arrows in stock if you need them, and some nice winterwing butterflies if you're thinking about going towards the volcano."
"How hard would it be for you to get Mighty Bananas?" Clementa asked breathlessly.
Beedle mused. "Not hard, but I don't carry them often. I don't bring them this far north because they don't sell well, and there's a banana merchant in Faron that makes selling them in that region very competitive. Why do you ask?"
"I need some for a sick friend." Clementa explained. "The Bananas should help her strength so she can get better." She left the addiction part out.
"They are rather nurturing." Beedle thought. "I can get them, but it would take a few days. And it wouldn't be cheap."
"I'll find you some nice Beetles from Hyrule ridge." Clementa promised. "And I'll tell you about the Ancient Training Ground I found." She said in a lower, conspiratorial whisper."
The slightly disturbing gleam returned to Beedle's eyes. "Oooooooh!" He squealed in delight. "I'll do it! I owe you for helping save Tabantha Ridge stable anyway."
"Thank you Beedle, you're a lifesaver." Clementa sighed, taking his hands in thanks. Perhaps literally. She thought to herself. She bought a few extra arrows for good measure and turned to Breen, who had followed her out of the stable. "Beedle can get the Bananas we need." Clementa explained. "And I will head to Hyrule Ridge to find your whistle plant. But I will need my horse if I'm to get there in the few days I'm expected to."
Breen nodded to one of the stable hands, who instantly ran to fetch Amencer. "I don't know how we can thank you." Breen said. "This alone puts my mind at ease."
"I can do one more thing." Clementa said as Amencer appeared. She walked over to the saddle bags and pulled out her tent. "Let's set this up outside, perhaps in the back. Srawi can sleep out there so she isn't disturbing you at night."
Breen's puffy eyes lightened. "I think we can do that."
It didn't take them long to set up the tent. It was in a paddock, otherwise unused except for the excited sheepdog that wandered around, sniffing in interest. "By the way" the second stable hand whispered as he pulled on a rope. "I heard from the boys down south that Banji made more of her special jelly. If you can't find the plant-and I really don't expect you to-just bring a couple jars of those and we'll consider the debt repaid."
"Done." Clementa said with a smile.
She made sure that Srawi was settled in the tent before she left. It had been easy to carry her from the bed; She had grown in strength, and Srawi had become extremely light after a week with almost no food. She gently lay Srawi down on the bed that had been made out of straw and sheep's wool. There was a quiet moan as Srawi seemed to drift into consciousness. Clementa looked sadly at her friend. She's foolish to try this on her own. She thought. But then, so was I.
With a final promise that she would return as soon as she could with the whistle plant, Clementa rode away from the stable. But as she passed Hyrule Castle, the urge to stop and explore its secrets overcame her. I seem to have traded one addiction for another. She thought sourly as she fetched the raft and sailed across the moat to the dock. I can never seem to escape this place.
It was easier than ever to gain access to the library. With her new skills in Shadow Stepping and Copying, she had cleared the dock and the Library in almost record time. She slowed, her breathing easing as the Ancient Spear shut itself off, returning to sleep mode as the last Lizalfos crumbled into black smoke. I see wat Rav Sij meant. Using those skills in combat is far different from the training arena.
She wandered about the library, fighting the suffocating despair that Ganon's malice brought with it. Srawi can fight you off, and so can I. She thought idly as she looked for the companion to the Hylian History book she had claimed last time. She also grabbed Purah's essays on the Sheikah Slate. She'd meant to last time only to be distracted by-
She ducked to the side, the arms of the Poe reaching past her shoulder into the bookcase. She tossed aside her bag and took up her spear, spinning to face the ghost in front of her. "Why do you still persist!" She yelled, striking forward with her spear as the Poe vanished. "Why are you so determined to haunt the Sheikah to the bitter end?"
She heard the chilling laugh around the room as the Poe circled, looking for the chance to strike. The Sheikah are weak, pathetic. They have dwindled to almost nothing. A nasty voice, one she hadn't heard in weeks, whispered in the depths of her heart. It almost sounded like Caoca. Almost. Even if you destroy the Yiga, you cannot save the Sheikah. They are beyond hope.
"Lies!" Clementa spat, spinning around and striking out with her spear. The Poe dodged, albeit narrowly, and vanished into shadow again.
Are they? The voice asked. Nothing remains in Kakariko but old women and gravestones. The Royal Family could not save them, and neither can you.
"Just watch me!" Clementa growled, spinning around and slicing the spear through the air. She was getting closer, but the Poe still dodged her strike.
You really think they're worth saving? The voice chided. You're a bigger fool than you were when you left Kakariko.
She could feel the anger getting the best of her. She stood straight, inhaling deeply and releasing to try and burn off the anger before she made a mistake. "You made that choice too. And look what you got for your trouble." She spat back. "You're as much of a fool as I was."
So poetic. The voice whispered. It's so… sickeningly like your grandfather.
And her anger came coursing back. "You leave him out of this!" She shouted, thrusting the spear forward to strike. "I am nothing like him!"
The Poe laughed, vanishing into the darkness as her blade missed. You disappointed him so much when you ran away. He honestly thought he could make a successor out of you. How mistaken he was.
"Shut up!"
You know It's true. You left him behind like you Left the rest of your family. He, his music, and the Sheikah will all fade to nothing. And it will be all your fault.
Clementa screamed and dove forward, piercing the Poe's heart with her spear. "Wrong." She hissed. "The Sheikah will not die. We don't need the Royal Family or my Grandfather's music."
The Poe merely laughed and dissolved into shadow, leaving her alone in the abandoned library, echoing long after he had disappeared. Clementa sighed and shut down the spear, slumping as she realized she let her anger get the best of her. I screwed up.
She looked over at her bag, which had been left on the floor. A section of bookcase had collapsed from the Poe's attack, leaving books scattered all over the floor. A few had crumbled to ruined bits of scrap, but a few had remained intact. She picked one up as she began to slowly unbury her bag. It was the historical companion she had been looking for. She turned carefully to the first page as she balanced it on her knee, setting other books aside as she did so. "The Twilit Invasion" She read aloud. She'd found it. She carefully slid it into her bag alongside the essays on the Sheikah slate and turned to leave the library. It was a long ride to Hyrule Ridge, and the sooner she got out of the haunted place, the better.
She walked out of the room doing her best to ignore the shadows that seemed to laugh at her every step.
